Telecommunications systems for transmitting voice and data to and from subscribers (i.e., residences and businesses) are known. An exemplary telecommunications system 10 is schematically shown in FIG. 1. The system 10 includes a Main Distribution Frame 12 (MDF) for connecting digital subscriber lines 13 (DSLs) to internal lines 14 within a telephone server's central office 15. The central office 15 frequently includes a DSLAM 18 (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) and a voice switch 19. The DSLAM 18 transmits data to and receives data from a communications network/backbone 21. The voice switch 19 transmits voice signals to and receives voice signals from a communications network/backbone 23. The networks 21 and 23 can be dedicated lines that are part of the same network. POTS splitter devices 16 (i.e., Plain Old Telephone Service splitter devices) are used at the central office 15 to combine data signals from the DSLAM 18 with voice signals from the voice switch 19. By combining the signals, the signals can be simultaneously routed to a subscriber 25 through a single DSL 13. Signals transmitted from subscribers 25 to the central office 15 are also routed through the POTS splitter devices 16. At the POTS splitter devices 16, the signals are split and directed to the DSLAM 18 and the voice switch 19. Typically, the splitter devices 16 include low pass filters for removing the data content from any signals transmitted from the splitter devices 16 to the voice switch 19. Since DSLAMs 18 frequently include high pass filters for removing the voice band, the splitter devices 16 usually do not include filters for filtering the voice content from the signals transmitted to the DSLAM 18.
For most telecommunications systems, it is desirable to maximize the splitter densities. To maximize splitter densities, multiple splitters can be mounted on a printed circuit board to form a splitter card. To further maximize splitter densities, multiple splitter cards can be mounted within the same chassis.
It is desirable to be able to easily test the communication lines of a telecommunications system to identify errors and to determine whether existing lines are ADSL compatible (i.e., a process known as loop qualification). What is needed is a test access device that provides ready test access to communication lines.